(PBA image)
Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone knows the road ahead won’t be forgiving. After a deflating loss to Magnolia in the PBA’s Season 50 curtain-raiser, the league’s winningest mentor is staring down a brutal early schedule packed with title contenders.
Up next for the Kings are powerhouse squads TNT, Meralco, defending champion San Miguel, and NLEX—four games that could define how Ginebra’s Philippine Cup campaign unfolds.
“We’ve got a tough schedule to start this conference—five straight games against MVP and SMC teams,” Cone admitted after Sunday’s 80-73 defeat to Magnolia. “We’ve got to pick it up.”
Cone, who went head-to-head with his former player-turned-coach LA Tenorio for the first time, was candid in assessing Ginebra’s struggles. “I didn’t see anybody play well tonight. Our first group has to pick it up. We can’t afford to start flat like we did,” he said, noting how team leader Scottie Thompson went scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting but managed five rebounds.
For Cone, there’s little room for moral victories in a loss like this. “We can’t play that way, especially against teams like TNT next week,” he warned, referring to their October 15 clash at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Despite the loss, Cone isn’t blaming the schedule or the timing of their rivalry opener. “It doesn’t matter when we face Magnolia—we’ll have to play them eventually,” he said. “The schedule is what it is. We just didn’t do a good job of dealing with it.”
For the seasoned coach chasing his 26th PBA crown, the message to his players is clear: recover fast, find rhythm early, and fight through the storm—because the toughest part of the road has only just begun.